No More Prophecies
by Hypotenuse
Summary: The medicine cats and leaders of ValleyClan, TreeClan and WaterClan discover that they're losing contact with SundownClan, their warrior ancestors. However, they're not the cats in the forest that are able to re-establish contact with SundownClan.
1. C1: Rainpaw and Stormfall

"Sorry, Stormfall," Rainpaw mewed sourly. "Won't happen again." Her eyes shifted to the forest ahead and watched all the prey scuttle away.

"I should hope not," Stormfall grunted. "Thanks for scaring away all the prey."

Rainpaw curled her head away from him. "You're welcome," she muttered under her breath. _If you were a better mentor I wouldn't have been so reckless._ She always blamed everything on her mentor. If the fresh-kill pile was running low, she'd be angry he'd have not asked her if she wanted to go hunting. If she did something wrong, she'd be upset that he hadn't taught her right.

Though it wouldn't hurt Stormfall to encourage her or try to understand why she did what she did every once in a while. He used to be an apprentice—he was still Stormpaw when Rainpaw was in the nursery with Creambird.

"I'm going to go hunt on my own for a while." Her mentor's voice broke into her thoughts.

"Alright," she meowed. "I'll scout the highlands behind Mudpawplace." Stormfall started to speak, but the tom's voice faded as Rainpaw raced through the woods. _Out of sight, out of mind._


	2. C2: The Apprentices XxX Puddleheart

"Rainpaw, don't!" Daypaw scrambled back up to her feet. She shot a glance at Thrushpaw, who had just come out of a hunter's crouch. He said nothing, but looked away shyly. Turning back to Rainpaw, she added, "This isn't a training session and I'm not an enemy warrior. You want something to do, go tackle some TreeClan kit. Sounds like something you _would_ be willing to do. Just leave me alone."

Rainpaw fiddled with a patch of grass underfoot with one claw extended. "Then don't make it so tempting to tackle you. You were just standing there sniffing the grass like a hare with no brain."

Curling around, Thrushpaw padded slowly back toward ValleyClan camp. "You two can't seem to do anything right near each other. If you hadn't noticed, I was ready to pounce at that bird that just flew up into a tree. Come on Daypaw, let's just go." Daypaw padded over to her brother, leaned over and hissed something in his ear, and the pair disappeared behind the ferns.

Rainpaw groomed a patch of her dark gray pelt, not regretful in the least bit. _Thrushpaw's bird was tiny anyways. He can go catch another._

The medicine cat den was quiet. Nutpaw was out gathering herbs, and Puddleheart was categorizing all the other herbs that her apprentice had brought back on the first run. Puddleheart heard the sound of claws scraping against the rocks.

"Can I help you, Rainpaw?" the medicine cat mewed cheerily, noticing the scent.

The apprentice scrambled in. "I need mouse bile for Thorn-nose's ticks," she grumbled.

"What'd you do this time?"

"Brambletail accused me of trying to mentor his apprentice."

The old tortoiseshell she-cat soaked a wad of moss in mouse bile and dropped it at Rainpaw's feet. "Don't worry, young one," she rasped. "Brambletail has always been a grumpy tom with a thorn in his pad. Pay no mind to what he says. He seems to have forgotten that he has only been a warrior as long as Stormfall or Leafstep."

Rainpaw purred. Puddleheart always knew that the small she-cat liked to hear what she had to say.

"Thanks, Puddleheart." Her meow was always so dark. _Shame, she'd make such a wonderful cat if she didn't have her mother's attitude._ Puddleheart felt a pang of heartsickness as she remembered Creambird. She had been part of the queen's first litter. She had delivered her mother's second litter, due to her mentor's early death, and she had watched her mother die.

She didn't notice Nutpaw coming in. "Puddleheart…? Mintstar, Lightstar and Bushstar are calling a meeting with the medicine cats and medicine cat apprentices in the middle of the forest."

"…Alright. I-I'm coming. Go ahead, I'll catch up."


	3. C3: The Beginning

The Clan leaders bounded into the clearing in the middle of the forest, bowing their heads to each other. Following behind the three leaders were all the medicine cats and medicine cat apprentices.

The two other leaders nodded to Lightstar, and the WaterClan leader stepped forward. "Greetings to Mintstar, Puddleheart and Nutpaw of ValleyClan and Bushstar, Clovernose and Tinystep of BushClan. Smokepelt, WaterClan's medicine cat, briefly connected with SundownClan the other night. He has been advised that the three Clan leaders, the three medicine cats, and the two medicine cat apprenticed _must_ meet at the Sundowntunnels on the next full moon—being in just four days."

Puddleheart's eyes widened. "Excuse me, Lightstar. May I interrupt?" The powerful white she-cat nodded, and the medicine cat continued. "Smokepelt, did our warrior ancestors tell you _why_ we had to meet on the night of a Gathering?"

The tom blinked slowly. "I can only say I have a feeling that what SundownClan has to share with the eight of us is very important, should they have to summon us during a Gathering." Smokepelt hopped up on a small ledge and turn to speak to the others. "Fishstream, my former mentor and best friend, told me she had nothing to say, no messages or warnings for me. When I questioned why she came to me in the dream, she responded that SundownClan was losing contact with me and you—medicine cats and leaders—and the cats of SundownClan needed to meet to have a last connection with each leader and medicine cat of each Clan. I fear that we are going to completely lose any contact with our beloved warrior ancestors." Protests arose from the cats, and Smokepelt silenced them with a flick of his tail. "I know," the black tom went on, "that no forest cat has ever been more powerful than a Clan leader or medicine cat. However…I suspect that we are losing that authority to other cats, cats of our very own Clans. I overheard Sightpaw mutter something to another apprentice at the last Gathering. He mentioned a cat named Frostwater, as well as two others: Doubletree and Grassvalley. As legend goes, these are the names of the three cats who brought Clans to the forest, established territories, and were even as strong as lions. I think it's reasonable to believe that Sightpaw met these cats, and that Sightpaw is also one of the cats that have the potential to have a very strong connection with every single cat of SundownClan." Bounding back down from the ledge, the WaterClan medicine cat looked each cat in the eye. When Puddleheart met his eyes, she felt as though everything he'd said was true. He must have been really serious about the situation. Those dark amber eyes were so cold, but somehow she knew he was sincerely worried.

"Then it's settled." Mintstar sat and curled his tail around his large paws. "We all set out for Sundowntunnels the day of the Gathering. Lightstar, Bushstar, I think we should send our deputies to take our places—the Gathering must go on." All three leaders nodded. "Every cat here," he meowed quietly, "must swear to secrecy. The Clans cannot be exposed to such a threat SundownClan has sent our way."

Puddleheart lay down with the other cats and closed her eyes in a code of silence for SundownClan's message. She remembered one night when Nutpaw had come to her about a dream of merely seeing three cats; probably the same ones that Sightpaw claimed to have seen. She didn't listen, said it was just a normal dream. But now she wondered if that dream could mean everything to the Clans.


End file.
